Grief (SVU)
Plot When a waitress's found murdered outside of a bar, the victim's ex-boyfriend becomes a prime suspect. Summary Vanessa's a waitress, who works at a bar. Vanessas found dead outside of the bar. Since Vanessa's panties are torn, it causes CSU Technician Georgie to tell the detectives that she was raped against her will before she got killed. Murder weapon's a gun, which's next to Vanessa's body. Vanessa's body shows trauma. The detectives interrogates a group of suspects including Vanessa's ex-boyfriend, named Donovan. Donovan & the other suspects are innocent. According to Vanessa's phone records, she spoke to a Rape Crisis Counselor more than 1 week ago. The detectives locate the Rape Crisis Counselor who says, "Vanessa's new boyfriend's Perry Williams. Perry's also Vanessa's boss. Vanessa said that she was continually raped by Perry." The detectives locates Perry's residence. They're not arresting Perry right now. They're asking Perry if he has a chance to come to the interrogation room. Perry & his own attorney go to the interrogation room. Perry says, "My DNA will match semen on Vanessa's body. She & I enjoyed having sex before she died. I never assaulted & raped her. I didn't kill her. I didn't see who killed her. I went back to my bar before she got killed." They don't have enough evidence to arrest Perry, so he & his attorney decide to leave the police station. Stabler didn't expect Ray to show up. Stabler manages to stop Ray from attacking Perry. Few hours later, Vanessa's death's ruled as a suicide. Stabler says, "Perry raped Vanessa & it caused her to commit suicide." Dr. Huang says, "Vanessa had bipolar disorder. Vanessa stopped taking her medication for at least 1 week. After Vanessa stopped taking her medication, she became unstable." Ray didn't tell the detectives about Vanessa's bipolar disorder. The detectives locate Ray's residence. Ray's shocked that Vanessa was unstable & she killed herself. Stabler & Benson allow Ray to talk to Melinda. Ray plans to talk to Melinda later. Ray blames Perry for Vanessa's suicide, but Ray realizes that the law says that Perry can't be held responsible legally for Vanessa's suicide. Ray tells the detectives that Vanessa went to a psychiatrist at least 1 time. The detectives locate Vanessa's psychiatrist who says, "Vanessa said that she was continually raped by Perry. She kept a diary." The detectives take Vanessa's diary to the station. They're talking to Alex. Alex says, "Vanessa's body showed trauma, but since she was unstable, it's hard for us to prove if Perry raped her. Since she was unstable, Perry will claim that he & she were having rough but consensual sex." Alex & the detectives still suspect that Perry continually raped Vanessa. Alex's able to submit Vanessa's diary, Vanessa's Rape Crisis Counselor, & Vanessa's Psychiatrist under Hearsay Rule, but Alex still needs a confession from Perry if he actually raped Vanessa. Alex allows them to arrest Perry. Alex asks them to question Perry again if he raped Vanessa. Melinda shows up. Melinda says, "Hi Stabler, I'm sorry because when I told Ray that Vanessa was forced to perform oral sex, Ray got angry. Ray didn't know about the oral sex part. I thought that you told Ray about the oral sex part. Ray went to some bar." Since Stabler didn't tell Ray about the oral sex part, it's because Stabler didn't want Ray to get angry again. Stabler fears that Ray's going to kill Perry. Ray already killed Perry outside of his bar. Ray plans to commit suicide, but Stabler manages to talk him out of it. Stabler's forced to arrest Ray for his crime, but calls one of the best lawyers there is to defend him. Ray's talking to Dr. Huang. Ray says, "I accused Perry for raping Vanessa. Perry still said that he didn't rape her, which made me angry. I used a gun to force Perry to get onto the ground. Perry said that he'll tell police the truth. Perry begged for his life. Since I believed that Perry was going to lie to the police again, I decided to kill Perry." Alex's sympathetic to Ray. When Ray forced Perry to get onto the ground, Ray didn't ask Perry again if he raped Vanessa. Few seconds before Perry died, Ray didn't ask Perry again if he raped Vanessa, which means that Ray did stupid/sad thing by killing Perry & that's why Alex can't give a plea bargain to Ray. After Ray reveals that Stabler said that Perry raped Vanessa, Stabler's called to testify for the defense. On the witness stand, Stabler says that he gave unsubstantiated info, which caused Ray to believe that Perry raped Vanessa. Despite Stabler's assistance, Ray's convicted of murder in 1st or 2nd degree. However, Ray doesn't regret his actions. Cast Main cast * Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler * Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson * Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch * Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola * B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang * Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Recurring cast * Viola Davis as Attorney Donna Emmett * Caren Browning as CSU Captain Judith Siper * Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner * Sheila Tousey as Judge Danielle Larsen * Welly Yang as CSU Technician Georgie Guest cast * Joe Morton as Ray Bevins * Paul Leyden as Perry Williams * D.J. Cotrona as Donovan Alvarez * Michele Hicks as Kimmie * Sophie Hayden as Mrs. Kligman * Matt Servitto as Fred Hopkins * Linda Powell as Julie White * Larry Cahn as Professor Schneider * David New as Dr. Thomas Allston * James Andrew O'Connor as Jake * Ralph Lucarelli as Kip * Josiah Early as Peter Kligman * Martha Millan as Lindsey Hay * Jerry D. O'Donnell as Officer O'Brien * Gerardo Rodriguez as Officer Ramirez * Dwayne Grayman as Jury Foreperson * Solange Sandy Groves as Danya * Theo Kogan as Club Girl * Amber Cather as Angela * Ed Bogdanowicz as ESU Sergeant Traynor References Vanessa Bevans Quotes *'Alex': Did you actually lawyer up for Ray Bevins? *'Stabler': He needed an attorney. *'Alex': So you called one of the best defense attorneys in town? Usually you get a confession instead of throwing up road blocks to protect the perps. *'Stabler': Ray Bevins is not a perp. *'Alex': He killed a man in cold blood. *'Stabler': He killed a sexual predator that you said we couldn't convict. *'Alex': I will not condone vigilantism. I am not going to let my compassion for Ray prevent me from doing my job. *'Stabler': Well, I did my job. I arrested him. He's all yours. ---- *'Alex': closing argument Some of you may believe that Perry Williams raped Vanessa Bevins in that alley. But Perry Williams is not on trial here. In fact, he never got his day in court at all. So, in the eyes of the law, he is innocent until proven guilty. Even if his guilt had been established, beyond a reasonable doubt, he could not have been executed for his crime. Ray Bevins executed Perry Williams. He shot a man who was on his knees, begging for his life. Now, some of you may think that he deserved to die. But you have to ask yourselves if he would execute a man whose guilt had not been proven. We have all felt the need for revenge at some point in our lives. We have all lashed out in pain and anger, and we have all thought that justice means an eye for an eye. But is that justice? Does Perry Williams' family now have the right to kill Ray Bevins? Does Ray Bevins' family then have the right to retaliate against Perry Williams? When would it stop? An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. ---- Background information and notes *It is revealed that Maureen Stabler attends Hudson University. Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes